Black Iris
by Erin Berryman
Summary: When a 20 year old girl who has been in hiding for two years on a small island finds herself face to face with a certain pirate all bets are off. He is curious about her and her skill with knifes and she just wants him to leave her in peace. But when a piece of her past shows up she has to chose. Yes or No?
1. Chapter 1

_Why does everyone have to get so excited? It's just a pirate ship. _

Iris watched the other villagers rush with loud chattering to look at the port. There was a bar and grill that sat on top of a cliff that looked over the ocean and there was a small port below where deliveries were made to the hotels and restaurants that lined the beach. The island was basically a very large beach with a little land in the center for the important buildings like the clinic, grocery store, the shelter where people go in case of a flood and the small government house that kept things in order on the island. Everyone else lived on the beach line in small houses or apartments. Nothing ever really happens on the island except for the occasional bad storm and that was why, Iris surmised, that they were all staring in wonder at the ship below.

It didn't look all that exciting either. It was yellow with a jolly roger that was a smiley with six…things coming out of it in all directions and were evenly spaced. It was on both sides of the ship, if you could call it a ship. It had a mast and a deck but that is where the similarities end. To Iris it looked almost like a submarine but she didn't know of anyone who at a sub with the words death etched across the sides.

Iris sighed and turned back to the kitchen to prep for the diner rush. She suspected that they would have more than the usual crowed here tonight and told the other staff as much.

"Wh-what? But it's not like those pirates are going to come here right?" the sue chef said. He always was asking her questions and following her around. It got on her nerves sometimes and when he asked one too many she usually cuffs him on the ear.

"More than likely. We are the only alcohol and food joint that's close to their ship and there is an advantage to our location for them." Iris said as she moved through the kitchen, taking note of what was done and what wasn't. They were going to need more meat prepared and all the alcohol needs to be brought up from the cellar. It was going to be a long night and hopefully it ended with a lot of drunken pirates. She sent the three bust boys to fetch the booze and she started to pull the extra meat from the large freezer.

"What do you mean? What advantage?" he asked, still hot on her heels and starting to aggravate her. He acted like a puppy sometimes. Iris turned with an arm full of dead cow to glare at him.

"We are directly above their ship and have a view of nearly the entire beach both left and right. If anything were to happen, _they_ would have the advantage. Get it?" She groused at him. "Now if you're done acting like a little boy, help with this meat. We're going to need all of it."

"B-but why can't we just, ya know, close for now till they leave." He stammered at her. Although he did as she asked and grabbed the meat from her arms. She walked over the prep station, talking as she did.

"Because if we be nice and serve them what they want they'll leave quietly with full stomachs and smiles. We will have reached a new high with sales and be set for the next quarter too." She said and opened one of the cabinets. She pulled out several big pans plus the grill spits too. They'll have to use all the oven space and the wood grill too if they wish to feed everyone at the same time.

"What if they just rob us?" he said quietly to her. Obviously he had the tact not to shout that to the whole kitchen and send them in to frenzy. She frowned at him and turned to give him her full attention. She didn't want him to completely freak out but she was wasting time too. She gave him her best "monster" look. It's what the staff calls her face when she gets into either fights or was having a really _bad_ day.

"I like to see them try." She said with nice and evil laugh. The chef actually took a step back from her. She dropped the face and smiled to ease him a little. Not many people liked that look on her and often told her she should control it better. But Iris knew she couldn't control something that was a part of her. Just like she can't control the way she laughs with her head thrown back or how she hates tomatoes with a fiery passion. It was just who she was.

"Besides…" She said as she turned back to her task. "If they wanted to destroy this island they would have attacked already instead of just sitting at the port. I'm guessing they need supplies or just want to rest for a little bit."

"Fine but I don't like the idea of serving pirates." He said and walked back to his station in a huff. Well maybe like a pout instead. He wasn't the kind of person to get huffy. She smiled at his retreating back and thought that tonight was oddly going to be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

An hour later and the place was packed just as she thought. The pirates, called the Heart Pirates apparently, had swarmed the placed and ordered nearly everything on the menu plus all the alcohol they had. They took up the five of the nine tables and the other four were occupied by some curious islanders although they had separated the tables to the far right of the bar. It seems that the other people didn't want to converse with the rowdy group but instead choose to stare at them like they were animals at the zoo. With the way they ate and burst in to loud laughter Iris couldn't help but compare them to starving hyenas. At least they dressed differently than your average pirate.

They all wore the same outfit that was a white suit with their symbol on the back and breast pocket. Nearly all wore some kind of hat except for the very large man that nearly touched the roof of the building even though he was sitting. If Iris looked carefully enough she could see scares that encompassed his neck which lead her to believe that he was a slave at some point. Who could possibly make a slave out a behemoth like him she had no idea but she hoped that she never meets the person. Iris isn't a fan of slavers and she would roast them on the fire pit if she got her hands on one. Then again the guy probably is already dead or dying if the big guys is free and walking about.

"Um, Iris? We have a slight problem." One of the bust boys said to her while looking down at his feet. Iris had a bad feeling pass though her as she recognized that stance. It meant that he either dropped something expensive or he lost something expensive. It was always one or the other with him and she was almost afraid to ask which one.

"Is something broken or is it lost?" She asked

"Um, lost I think. I was getting the recipe book for the next round of dishes but I got…side tracked." He mumbled at her as he shuffled his feet. His hair covered his eyes but she guessed that they were filling up with tears. _Heart of lion this one._ She thought as she looked at him.

"You were side tracked by what exactly?" She asked with as much patience as a mother.

"Some of the pirates offered to teach me poker and I put the book down for only a few minutes just play a few hands and when I looked back to where I put it, it was gone." He said. Now his voice was starting to quiver and unless Iris did something fast she was going to have a fourteen year old sobbing mess on her hands.

"I'll look for it. I'm guessing it was at the table in the corner?" That was where she saw them playing cards earlier and she hoped one of them didn't snatch it. Not that the book was expensive but a really good recipe book. An island favorite to be exact. Without it the cooks would have to improvise and Iris was sure that their regular customers would not be happy about that. She walked calmly over to the table which sat three of the pirates. One wore a hat that had a red pompom on top and the words penguin written above the bill.

"Excuse me." She said as she reached the table. They looked up from the cards in their hands to leer at her. "One of the boys seems to have left a book lying about around here and I was wondering if you have seen it."

"Nope haven't seen it." The one with the pompom hat said as he grinned widely up at her. He seemed to be the type that was weak with women if the blush across his cheeks were any indication. He also looked her up and down and obviously liked what he saw. She smiled inwardly when a funny idea came into her head and she knew exactly how to get the book back.

"Really? That's a shame. I so did like that book and I hope nothing bad has happened to it." She said with a small, girly pout directed at him. She also moved closer so that her hip brushed against his arm and with the knee high skirt she was wearing hugging her as it did the guy almost got a nose bleed. He turned in his chair closer to her and that's when she saw a familiar shape outlined by his jump suit close to the beast pocket shift slightly. Bingo.

Iris smiled as she leaned closer and mover her hands to either side. "Are you sure you haven't seen it?" she whispered to him.

"N-no." he stammered at her. With a quick movement with her right hand she pulled the book from where he was hiding it and held it up like a kid at show and tell. His face went from joy to shock in a nano second and his friends face mirrored his.

"That's odd because this is the book I was looking for." She said with a victory smile at him. His friends quickly got over the shock and start to howl with laughter. Even the guests next to the bar were smiling at her shenanigans too. They all knew that Iris was a great pick pocket when a guest had tried to make off with a very expensive bottle of liquor. She had gotten it back just by doing the same thing she did to the pompom guy.

"Thanks for your help." She said with a big smile as she turned and walked back to kitchen area. She could hear the guys' still laughing and poking fun at their friend for being fooled but he didn't seem to mind. He said to his friends that at least he got close to a woman which is more than can be said for anyone else on the ship. Iris huffed a laugh at them and didn't notice when the door to the bar opened and their captain and his first mate walked in.


End file.
